Flashlights have been used in industrial and underwater environments for many years. Conventional industrial flashlights and underwater flashlights utilize waterproof plastic covers and include control switches operated through a flexible seal that seals the flashlight against entry of water, gases and small hazardous particles. The waterproof plastic covers are slip-on covers that are molded in a separate operation from fabrication of the housing of the flashlight, and are later slipped onto the housing. Frequently, the plastic covers and the flexible seals, which are separate from the covers, tend to wear and leak with age and use, and are easily damaged in certain industrial and underwater settings.
Additionally, divers and industrial users of flashlights often carry heavy equipment and wear bulky protective clothing. Further, such users may be in small spaces with poor lighting and poor visibility. All of these conditions tend to impair the user's mobility and dexterity. Conventional flashlights with conventional waterproof plastic covers also tend to become slippery and difficult to handle.
Moreover, in usage in a high pressure environment such as in diving, a conventional flashlight momentary actuator switch is pressed against by the pressure of the water and will actuate when taken below a certain depth. Thus, the flashlight turns on and remains on whether or not the diver wants it on. To avoid this problem by increasing the force necessary to actuate the momentary switch is not satisfactory because the necessary actuation force would have to be too great for convenient actuation. In fact, people who do not have very strong fingers are likely to be unable to operate such high-actuation-force momentary switch.
Therefore, it is highly desirable to provide a flashlight with a grip and an actuator seal, through which is operated a switch, molded contemporaneously as one piece to the housing of the flashlight to seal the flashlight, for example, against entry of water, gases, small particles and other contaminants. It is also desirable to provide a flashlight having a momentary switch that does not actuate under the force of external pressure.